Articulation Disorder

Parents’ Chattiness Pays off!

Posted by on Dec 22, 2023 in Articulation Disorder, Blogs, Early Intervention, Language Delay/Disorders, Pragmatic Language Skills, Social Skills, Speech and Language Development, Speech Delay, Uncategorized | 0 comments

So, parents, being chatty pays off! Recent research reported in Science.org has shown that a parent’s chattiness is related to their child’s language and vocabulary! The article reports that “on average, kids spoke 27 times more per HOUR for every 100 extra adult vocalizations they heard. The number of vocalizations children make is closely linked to the size of their vocabulary”. Take a closer look at the article here.https://www.science.org/content/article/kids-chattier-parents-are-more-talkative-may-have-bigger-vocabulary

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Are Ye Ready? Pirates are Not Just About RRRRRRRR’s Me Heartie!

Posted by on Sep 16, 2017 in Articulation Disorder, Blogs, Early Intervention, Emergent Literacy, Language Delay/Disorders, Speech-Language Therapy, Therapy Activities | 0 comments

As International Talk Like a Pirate Day approaches (September 19th, this year and every year!), I am inspired to talk about how much fun it is to use a pirate theme in speech-language therapy, with younger kids and older kids, alike. Lessonpix is an amazing resource for pirate pictures (and many other themes) which you can use to make custom materials for your kiddos. I am attaching some samples here for you to check out. I like to use a pirate treasure map to work on following directions, pirate stick puppets to work on pronouns, grammar and syntax, pirate actions or roleplaying to work on...

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Sippy Cups Be Gone!

Posted by on Mar 4, 2017 in Articulation Disorder, Early Intervention, Feeding Development, Oral Motor Skills, Speech Delay | 0 comments

I just read this great article in the ASHA Leader Blog about sippy cups and their adverse effects on both speech and feeding development. There are many other options available which are more conducive to appropriate development. Take a look! Would you consider getting rid of your children’s sippy cups? I think I am going to pass on this article to my families so that they can see the benefits of not using sippy cups with their children. Thanks for reading, Cindy McCallum, M.Sc., R.SLP, SLP(C) Registered Speech-language Pathologist Sippy Cups: 3 Reasons to Skip Them and What to Offer...

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“ARRRR!”: Pirate Talk and a Speech-Language Pathology Challenge

Posted by on Sep 19, 2015 in Articulation Disorder, Blogs, Early Intervention, Speech and Language Development, Speech Delay, Speech Language Pathology, Speech Sound Disorders, Speech-Language Therapy | 0 comments

Avast Me Hearties! And Happy “International Talk Like a Pirate Day”! Yes, this really is an annual, bona fide event, and one that I have been waiting for all year.  And I happen to have friends that are experts in “pirate lingo”, the key to which is a great /r/ sound. ARRRR! The /r/ sound is one that is a common error sound for many children, and one that children may not outgrow. Although 75% of children master /r/ by age 4 years, I see children and adults all the time wherever I go and on television, who did not outgrow their /r/ problem. They tend to substitute a /w/ sound or produce a...

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I Don’t Know What to Say: A Social Skills Success Story

Posted by on May 17, 2015 in Articulation Disorder, Blogs, Language Delay/Disorders, May is Better Hearing and Speech Month, Pragmatic Language Skills, Social Skills | 0 comments

Imagine that you are a child and you have a new toy or a new outfit you want to show your friends. You are very excited but when you see your friend, your mind draws a blank!  You freeze and cannot think of what to say. You may have trouble formulating the sentences to be able to tell about your toy, or you may have trouble thinking of specific words. Or you may just have not acquired the social skills to be able to easily interact and engage in conversation. You might be a child with a language disorder. If you are showing an adult, the adult will likely be very good at noticing what you...

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/K/ in Isolation: Do the Dinosaur Stomp!

Posted by on Apr 19, 2015 in Articulation Disorder, Blogs, Speech Delay, Speech Sound Disorders, Speech-Language Therapy, Therapy Activities | 0 comments

What is /k/ in isolation you say?! That is speech pathology lingo for working on the /k/ sound all by itself rather than in a syllable or a word. Nothing to do with /k/ being in time out! Many children need help learning how to make the /k/ and /g/ sounds, which are produced by the back of the tongue going up and quickly hitting the roof of your mouth. Children with speech delays often incorrectly substitute a /t/ or /d/ since they are using the tongue tip instead of the back of the tongue. We call this process “velar fronting”.  And sometimes, children need to start working on /k/ all by...

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